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Tikhonov D, Kulikova L, Rudnev V, Kopylov AT, Taldaev A, Stepanov A, Malsagova K, Izotov A, Enikeev D, Potoldykova N, Kaysheva A. Changes in Protein Structural Motifs upon Post-Translational Modification in Kidney Cancer. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021; 11:diagnostics11101836. [PMID: 34679534 PMCID: PMC8534394 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11101836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-translational modification (PTM) leads to conformational changes in protein structure, modulates the biological function of proteins, and, consequently, changes the signature of metabolic transformations and the immune response in the body. Common PTMs are reversible and serve as a mechanism for modulating metabolic trans-formations in cells. It is likely that dysregulation of post-translational cellular signaling leads to abnormal proliferation and oncogenesis. We examined protein PTMs in the blood samples from patients with kidney cancer. Conformational changes in proteins after modification were analyzed. The proteins were analyzed using ultra-high resolution HPLC-MS/MS and structural analysis was performed with the AMBER and GROMACS software packages. Fifteen proteins containing PTMs were identified in blood samples from patients with kidney cancer. For proteins with PDB structures, a comparative analysis of the structural changes accompanying the modifications was performed. Results revealed that PTMs are localized in stable and compact space protein globule motifs that are exposed to a solvent. The phenomenon of modification is accompanied, as a rule, by an increase in the area available for the solvent of the modified amino acid residue and its active environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry Tikhonov
- Institute of Mathematical Problems of Biology RAS—The Branch of Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia; (D.T.); (L.K.)
- Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia;
| | - Liudmila Kulikova
- Institute of Mathematical Problems of Biology RAS—The Branch of Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia; (D.T.); (L.K.)
- Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia;
| | - Vladimir Rudnev
- Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Russia;
- V.N. Orekhovich Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, 119121 Moscow, Russia; (A.T.K.); (A.T.); (A.S.); (A.I.); (A.K.)
| | - Arthur T. Kopylov
- V.N. Orekhovich Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, 119121 Moscow, Russia; (A.T.K.); (A.T.); (A.S.); (A.I.); (A.K.)
| | - Amir Taldaev
- V.N. Orekhovich Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, 119121 Moscow, Russia; (A.T.K.); (A.T.); (A.S.); (A.I.); (A.K.)
- Institute of Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University, 119121 Moscow, Russia; (D.E.); (N.P.)
| | - Alexander Stepanov
- V.N. Orekhovich Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, 119121 Moscow, Russia; (A.T.K.); (A.T.); (A.S.); (A.I.); (A.K.)
| | - Kristina Malsagova
- V.N. Orekhovich Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, 119121 Moscow, Russia; (A.T.K.); (A.T.); (A.S.); (A.I.); (A.K.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +7-499-764-9878
| | - Alexander Izotov
- V.N. Orekhovich Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, 119121 Moscow, Russia; (A.T.K.); (A.T.); (A.S.); (A.I.); (A.K.)
| | - Dmitry Enikeev
- Institute of Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University, 119121 Moscow, Russia; (D.E.); (N.P.)
| | - Natalia Potoldykova
- Institute of Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University, 119121 Moscow, Russia; (D.E.); (N.P.)
| | - Anna Kaysheva
- V.N. Orekhovich Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, 119121 Moscow, Russia; (A.T.K.); (A.T.); (A.S.); (A.I.); (A.K.)
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Treatment for benign thyroid nodules with a combination of natural extracts. Mol Med Rep 2019; 20:2332-2338. [PMID: 31322200 PMCID: PMC6691239 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2019.10453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Benign thyroid nodules are among the most common endocrine disorders. Recent advances in diagnostic imaging and pathology have significantly contributed to better risk stratification of thyroid nodules. However, current treatment options, beyond surgical approaches are limited. The following placebo-controlled study presents, to the best of our knowledge, the first results of a non-invasive therapy for benign thyroid nodules. The efficacy and safety of a supplement containing spirulina, curcumin and Boswellia in euthyroid patients with benign thyroid nodules, was assessed by a 3 month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study which was completed by 34 patients. Patients with benign (FNAB documented) single thyroid nodules between 2 and 5 cm were evaluated in a prospective placebo-controlled cross-over trial, across 12 weeks (3 visits with six-week intervals). At each visit, the target thyroid nodule was recorded in two dimensions. In addition, plasma levels of thyroid stimulating hormone, free thyroxine and copper were assessed. The mean initial nodule area at V1 was 4.38±3.14 cm2, at V2 3.87±2.79 cm2, and at V3 3.53±2.84 cm2; P<0.04. Administration of the active substances (n=34) was followed by a mean area decrease of 0.611 cm2±0.933 (SD), while placebo administration (n=29) was followed by a mean decrease of 0.178 cm2±0.515 (SD), (P=0.027). The presented findings suggest that the combination of spirulina-curcumin-Boswellia is effective in reducing the size of benign thyroid nodules. However, additional studies are needed in order to elucidate the exact mechanisms through which the suggested supplement facilitates a decrease in the size of benign thyroid nodules.
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Wu CC, Lin JD, Chen JT, Chang CM, Weng HF, Hsueh C, Chien HP, Yu JS. Integrated analysis of fine-needle-aspiration cystic fluid proteome, cancer cell secretome, and public transcriptome datasets for papillary thyroid cancer biomarker discovery. Oncotarget 2018; 9:12079-12100. [PMID: 29552294 PMCID: PMC5844730 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.23951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Thyroid ultrasound and ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (USG/FNA) biopsy are currently used for diagnosing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), but their detection limit could be improved by combining other biomarkers. To discover novel PTC biomarkers, we herein applied a GeLC-MS/MS strategy to analyze the proteome profiles of serum-abundant-protein-depleted FNA cystic fluid from benign and PTC patients, as well as two PTC cell line secretomes. From them, we identified 346, 488, and 2105 proteins, respectively. Comparative analysis revealed that 191 proteins were detected in the PTC but not the benign cystic fluid samples, and thus may represent potential PTC biomarkers. Among these proteins, 101 were detected in the PTC cell line secretomes, and seven of them (NPC2, CTSC, AGRN, GPNMB, DPP4, ERAP2, and SH3BGRL3) were reported in public PTC transcriptome datasets as having 4681 elevated mRNA expression in PTC. Immunoblot analysis confirmed the elevated expression levels of five proteins (NPC2, CTSC, GPNMB, DPP4, and ERAP2) in PTC versus benign cystic fluids. Immunohistochemical studies from near 100 pairs of PTC tissue and their adjacent non-tumor counterparts further showed that AGRN (n = 98), CTSC (n = 99), ERAP2 (n = 98) and GPNMB (n = 100) were significantly (p < 0.05) overexpressed in PTC and higher expression levels of AGRN and CTSC were also significantly associated with metastasis and poor prognosis of PTC patients. Collectively, our results indicate that an integrated analysis of FNA cystic fluid proteome, cancer cell secretome and tissue transcriptome datasets represents a useful strategy for efficiently discovering novel PTC biomarker candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Chun Wu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Jen-Der Lin
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Jeng-Ting Chen
- Department of Surgery, Department of Medical Research and Development Linkou Branch, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Min Chang
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Hsiao-Fen Weng
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chuen Hsueh
- Department of Pathology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Hui-Ping Chien
- Department of Pathology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Jau-Song Yu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Molecular Medicine Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Liver Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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Baloch Z, Bubendorf L, Bedrossian CWM. There is more than meet the eyes in head and neck cytopathology. Diagn Cytopathol 2014; 42:1-4. [PMID: 24376170 DOI: 10.1002/dc.23089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Tuccari G, Barresi G. Lactoferrin in human tumours: immunohistochemical investigations during more than 25 years. Biometals 2011; 24:775-84. [PMID: 21472415 DOI: 10.1007/s10534-011-9450-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2011] [Accepted: 03/28/2011] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Lactoferrin (LF) is an iron-binding glycoprotein of the transferrin family, today known to have multifunctional physiological activities. In humans, under normal conditions, LF has been found in blood, mucosal secretions, gastrointestinal fluids, urine and mostly in milk and colostrum. The first pioneering immunohistochemical report about LF distribution in human tissues dated in 1978; successively, many studies have been performed to analyze the LF immunohistochemical pattern in different normal and neoplastic tissues. In this review, we present data from literature concerning the evidence of LF in tumors together with those by us obtained during more than 25 years; the immunohistochemical applications to human neoplastic tissues have been done to investigate the LF pathogenetic role as well as its activity in cancer. After a systematic analysis of LF immunoreactivity in different human districts, a possible explanation for its presence and function has been modulated for each site or tissue, according to experimental evidences obtained either by in vivo as well as by in vitro studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Tuccari
- Department of Human Pathology, University of Messina, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria "Policlinico G.Martino", Via Consolare Valeria, 98125 Messina, Italy.
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Woo GH, Takahashi M, Inoue K, Fujimoto H, Igarashi K, Kanno J, Hirose M, Nishikawa A, Shibutani M. Cellular distributions of molecules with altered expression specific to thyroid proliferative lesions developing in a rat thyroid carcinogenesis model. Cancer Sci 2009; 100:617-25. [PMID: 19298605 PMCID: PMC11159851 DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2009.01094.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2008] [Revised: 12/25/2008] [Accepted: 12/26/2008] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
To identify differentially regulated molecules related to early and late stages of tumor promotion in a rat two-stage thyroid carcinogenesis model by an antithyroid agent, sulfadimethoxine, microarray-based microdissected lesion-specific gene expression profiling was carried out. Proliferative lesions for profiling were divided into two categories: (i) focal follicular cell hyperplasias (FFCH) and adenomas (Ad) as early lesions; and (ii) carcinomas (Ca) as more advanced. In both cases, gene expression was compared with that in surrounding non-tumor follicular cells. Characteristically, upregulation of cell cycle-related genes in FFCH + Ad, downregulation of genes related to tumor suppression and transcription inhibitors of inhibitor of DNA binding (Id) family proteins in Ca, and upregulation of genes related to cell proliferation and tumor progression in common in FFCH + Ad and Ca, were detected. The immunohistochemical distributions of molecules included in the altered expression profiles were further examined. In parallel with microarray data, increased localization of ceruloplasmin, cyclin B1, and cell division cycle 2 homolog A, and decreased localization of poliovirus receptor-related 3 and Id3 were observed in all types of lesion. Although inconsistent with the microarray data, thyroglobulin immunoreactivity appeared to reduce in Ca. The results thus suggest cell cycling facilitation by induction of M-phase-promoting factor consisting of cyclin B1 and cell division cycle 2 homolog A and generation of oxidative responses as evidenced by ceruloplasmin accumulation from an early stage, as well as suppression of cell adhesion involving poliovirus receptor-related 3 and inhibition of cellular differentiation regulated by Id3. Decrease of thyroglobulin in Ca may reflect dedifferentiation with progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gye-Hyeong Woo
- Division of Pathology, National Institute of Health Science, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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Burniat A, Jin L, Detours V, Driessens N, Goffard JC, Santoro M, Rothstein J, Dumont JE, Miot F, Corvilain B. Gene expression in RET/PTC3 and E7 transgenic mouse thyroids: RET/PTC3 but not E7 tumors are partial and transient models of human papillary thyroid cancers. Endocrinology 2008; 149:5107-17. [PMID: 18583418 DOI: 10.1210/en.2008-0531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
We studied gene expression profiles in two mouse models of human thyroid carcinoma: the Tg-RET/PTC3 (RP3) and Tg-E7 mice. RP3 fusion gene is the most frequent mutation found in the first wave post-Chernobyl papillary thyroid cancers (PTCs). E7 is an oncoprotein derived from the human papillomavirus 16 responsible for most cervical carcinoma in women. Both transgenic mice develop thyroid hyperplasia followed by solid differentiated carcinoma in older animals. To understand the different steps leading to carcinoma, we analyzed thyroid gene expression in both strains at different ages by microarray technology. Important biological processes were differentially regulated in the two tumor types. In E7 thyroids, cell cycle was the most up-regulated process, an observation consistent with the huge size of these tumors. In RP3 thyroids, contrary to E7 tumors, several human PTC characteristics were observed: overexpression of many immune-related genes, regulation of human PTC markers, up-regulation of EGF-like growth factors and significant regulation of angiogenesis and extracellular matrix remodeling-related genes. However, similarities were incomplete; they did not concern the overall gene expression and were not conserved in old animals. Therefore, RP3 tumors are partial and transient models of human PTC. They constitute a good model, especially in young animals, to study the respective role of the biological processes shared with human PTC and will allow testing drugs targeting these validated variables.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Biomarkers, Tumor
- Carcinoma, Papillary/genetics
- Carcinoma, Papillary/pathology
- Carcinoma, Papillary/physiopathology
- Cell Cycle/physiology
- Cell Division/physiology
- Disease Models, Animal
- Extracellular Space
- Female
- Gene Expression Profiling
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
- Humans
- Male
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Mice, Transgenic
- Neovascularization, Pathologic/genetics
- Neovascularization, Pathologic/pathology
- Neovascularization, Pathologic/physiopathology
- Oncogene Proteins, Viral/genetics
- Papillomavirus E7 Proteins
- Phenotype
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret/genetics
- Thyroid Gland/immunology
- Thyroid Gland/pathology
- Thyroid Gland/physiology
- Thyroid Neoplasms/genetics
- Thyroid Neoplasms/pathology
- Thyroid Neoplasms/physiopathology
- Up-Regulation/physiology
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnès Burniat
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, School of Medicine, Department of Endocrinology, Erasme University Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
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Chen Y, Lim BK, Peh SC, Abdul-Rahman PS, Hashim OH. Profiling of serum and tissue high abundance acute-phase proteins of patients with epithelial and germ line ovarian carcinoma. Proteome Sci 2008; 6:20. [PMID: 18637207 PMCID: PMC2496906 DOI: 10.1186/1477-5956-6-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2008] [Accepted: 07/18/2008] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Acute-phase response involves the simultaneous altered expression of serum proteins in association to inflammation, infection, injury or malignancy. Studies of the acute-phase response usually involve determination of the levels of individual acute-phase serum proteins. In the present study, the acute-phase response of patients with epithelial (EOCa) and germ-line (GOCa) ovarian carcinoma was investigated using the gel-based proteomic approach, a technique which allowed the simultaneous assessment of the levels of the acute-phase serum high abundance proteins. Data obtained were validated using ELISA and immunostaining of biopsy samples. Results Enhanced expression of clusterin (CLU), α1-antitrypsin, haptoglobin and leucine rich glycoprotein was detected in all patients. However, the levels of α1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) was only enhanced in EOCa patients, while patients with GOCa were typically characterized by elevated levels of ceruloplasmin but lower levels of α2-HS glycoprotein. The enhanced expression of CLU in EOCa and GOCa patients and up-regulated expression of ACT specifically in EOCa patients were confirmed by ELISA. Immunohistochemical staining of biopsy samples of EOCa and GOCa patients demonstrated correlation of the acute-phase protein expression. Conclusion Patients with EOCa and GOCa demonstrated distinctive aberrant expression of serum and tissue high abundance acute-phase proteins compared to negative control women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeng Chen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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Sasabe E, Zhou X, Li D, Oku N, Yamamoto T, Osaki T. The involvement of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha in the susceptibility to gamma-rays and chemotherapeutic drugs of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells. Int J Cancer 2007; 120:268-77. [PMID: 17066447 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.22294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) is the key regulator that controls the hypoxic response of mammalian cells. The overexpression of HIF-1alpha has been demonstrated in many human tumors. However, the role of HIF-1alpha in the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in cancer cells is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the influence of HIF-1alpha expression on the susceptibility of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells to chemotherapeutic drugs (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum and 5-fluorouracil) and gamma-rays. Treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs and gamma-rays enhanced the expression and nuclear translocation of HIF-1alpha, and the susceptibility of OSCC cells to the drugs and gamma-rays was negatively correlated with the expression level of HIF-1alpha protein. The overexpression of HIF-1alpha induced OSCC cells to become more resistant to the anticancer agents, and down-regulation of HIF-1alpha expression by small interfering RNA enhanced the susceptibility of OSCC cells to them. In the HIF-1alpha-knockdown OSCC cells, the expression of P-glycoprotein, heme oxygenase-1, manganese-superoxide dismutase and ceruloplasmin were downregulated and the intracellular levels of chemotherapeutic drugs and reactive oxygen species were sustained at higher levels after the treatment with the anticancer agents. These results suggest that enhanced HIF-1alpha expression is related to the resistance of tumor cells to chemo- and radio-therapy and that HIF-1alpha is an effective therapeutic target for cancer treatment.
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MESH Headings
- ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1/genetics
- Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use
- Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy
- Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/radiotherapy
- Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/therapy
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Ceruloplasmin/genetics
- Ceruloplasmin/metabolism
- Cisplatin/therapeutic use
- Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/genetics
- Fluorouracil/therapeutic use
- Gamma Rays
- Heme Oxygenase-1/genetics
- Heme Oxygenase-1/metabolism
- Humans
- Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/antagonists & inhibitors
- Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/genetics
- Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/physiology
- Mouth Neoplasms/drug therapy
- Mouth Neoplasms/radiotherapy
- Mouth Neoplasms/therapy
- Promoter Regions, Genetic/genetics
- RNA, Small Interfering/genetics
- RNA, Small Interfering/pharmacology
- Radiation Tolerance/genetics
- Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism
- Superoxide Dismutase/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Eri Sasabe
- Department of Oral Oncology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan.
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Lee CM, Lo HW, Shao RP, Wang SC, Xia W, Gershenson DM, Hung MC. Selective activation of ceruloplasmin promoter in ovarian tumors: potential use for gene therapy. Cancer Res 2004; 64:1788-93. [PMID: 14996741 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-03-2551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Gene therapy provides a novel treatment approach to cancer patients. Ideally, expression of therapeutic genes driven by cancer-specific promoters would only target tumors resulting in minimal toxicity to normal tissues. While there is a need of more effective and tolerable treatments for ovarian cancer patients, we aimed to identify gene promoters with high activity in ovarian tumors that can be potentially used in gene therapy to drive the expression of a therapeutic gene in tumors. To identify such promoters, a literature search was performed to reveal genes that are preferentially expressed in ovarian cancer compared with normal ovarian tissue. We found that the ceruloplasmin promoter drove up to 30-fold higher luciferase expression in ovarian cancer cells compared with immortalized normal cells. Furthermore, deletion studies revealed an activator protein-1 (AP-1) site in the ceruloplasmin promoter to be critical for optimal ceruloplasmin promoter activity. Ceruloplasmin promoter activity was significantly activated by 1-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate, a c-jun activator, and conversely suppressed by SP600125, a c-jun inhibitor. Consistently, the ceruloplasmin AP-1 site was specifically recognized by c-jun both in vitro and in vivo. Immunohistochemical analyses of human ovarian cancer specimens showed a direct correlation (r = 0.7, P = 0.007) between expression levels of c-jun and ceruloplasmin. In nude mice carrying SKOV3.ip1 xenografts, the ceruloplasmin promoter demonstrated significantly higher activities in tumors compared with normal organs. Together, these results suggest that the ceruloplasmin promoter activity is significantly enhanced in ovarian cancer and therefore may be exploited as a promising cancer-specific promoter in developing new gene therapy strategies for ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine M Lee
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
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Abstract
A number of molecular abnormalities have been described in association with the progression from normal thyroid tissue to benign adenomas to well-differentiated and finally anaplastic epithelial thyroid cancer. These include upregulation of proliferative factors, such as growth hormones and oncogenes, downregulation of apoptotic and cell-cycle inhibitory factors, such as tumor suppressors, disruption of normal cell-to-cell interactions, and cellular immortalization. The progression model for thyroid carcinoma has not been proven, but evidence suggests that an evolutionary molecular process is involved, especially in the development of follicular thyroid cancers for which there are distinct intermediate phenotypes. We present a comprehensive evaluation of factors involved in thyroid tumorigenesis and attempt to describe preliminary attributes of a progression model. The organization of this model should also provide a template for the incorporation of new information as it is derived from large-scale genomic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorry L Segev
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
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Dwarakanathan AA. Hope or hype? Endocr Pract 2001; 7:221-2. [PMID: 11421569 DOI: 10.4158/ep.7.3.221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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